ACE the New Year

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
It sounded like the hardware store jingle as the long-time guide laid out his simple plan for muskie fishing. “ACE is the base for success with muskies – Attitude, Character, Enthusiasm,” he bellowed to those of us in attendance at the banquet. Simply, he summed up what makes a good angler – the [...]

Early Northern Pike Ice Fishing

Ice Team
If there’s a fish species that gets fired up for cold water, it’s the northern pike. Especially big ones, with distance between the eyeballs. If you’re a little fish, a big pike is your worst nightmare–but if you are an ice angler, a big pike can be your favorite dance partner.
Big pike are active [...]

Northern Pike Recipe List

Here’s some favorite northern pike recipes of ours.
Pickled Northern Pike Recipe
This recipe can be used with any fish but northern pike works best. Before using this recipe be sure to freeze the fish at least 5 days. This will destroy any parasites that are present in the fish or bacteria that may have been picked [...]

Freshen Up Your Skills

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson

 

 
The season for big fish has come! The snow is rapidly melting, the ice is weakening, and the fish are preparing for the spawn. It is a picture perfect time for spring angling. If you plan to take some photos of your angling success this openwater season, here are some tips for ensuring [...]

Early Northern Pike Ice Fishing

Ice Team
If there’s a fish species that gets fired up for cold water, it’s the northern pike. Especially big ones, with distance between the eyeballs. If you’re a little fish, a big pike is your worst nightmare–but if you are an ice angler, a big pike can be your favorite dance partner.
Big pike are active [...]

Northern Pike Ice Fishing Tips

By Nick Simonson
If you are tired of finicky panfish or walleye with lockjaw and the slow bite that the area has been experiencing throughout this unstable portion of the winter, turn to an old favorite to heat up the action on the ice.
One of the most exciting fish to catch in our area is the [...]

Trophy Northern Pike Fishing in Early Winter

Ice Team
If there’s a fish species that gets fired up for cold water, it’s the northern pike. Especially big ones, with distance between the eyeballs. If you’re a little fish, a big pike is your worst nightmare—but if you are an ice angler, a big pike can be your favorite dance partner.
Trophy pike are active [...]

Catching Big Pike During the Late Winter – Trophy Northern Pike Fishing

By Karl Kleman
You can take ‘em at other times, but Power Stick Karl Kleman likes; Late Winter for Monster Pike.
One person’s complaint is another person’s call to action. Very early in his ice-fishing days, Power Stick Karl Kleman picked up on a familiar refrain coming from late winter panfish anglers.
“When the sunfish move up into [...]

Give Spear Fishing a Try

By Doug Leier
The last time you tried something new, did you have a hint of apprehension, or at least a little adrenaline rush triggered by anticipation?
Whether it’s a new recipe for venison or test-driving a used car, you never know exactly what to expect, until you try.
While darkhouse spearfishing in North Dakota has little to [...]

Spearfishing Through the Ice

By Jason Phillips
Reminiscent of a scene on the coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico, I watched perch drifting against the bottom of the frozen lake. Subtle breaks in the lake floor, accompanied by a weed bed and an old sunken log were the coral in this picture. As I gazed down the hole waiting [...]

Ice Fishing for Pike

By Jason Phillips
According to the weather forecast, March will begin with subzero temperatures which will extend the wait for the snow goose migration. We are in the midst of the spring snow goose hunting season but could be a month away from actually having huntable numbers of geese in the state! With an excess of [...]

Solunar Tables

By Doug Leier
When your hunting and fishing skills are comparable to those of Captain Kangaroo, you need all the help you can get.
One tool that doesn’t come via mail order or credit card swipe is the solunar tables listed in many magazines and newspaper outdoors sections. Like most people who spend a lot of time [...]